A. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to fishing equipment and fishing related accessories, more specifically relates to a portable device for holding and supporting fishing rods or tip downs.
B. Description of Related Art
Fishermen or people who indulge in fishing activity are typically required to carry out numerous other activities during fishing. These activities include, for example, baiting a hook, replacing or changing a lure, untangling the fishing line, removing a hook from a caught fish, releasing a fish, steering a boat, etc. Typically these activities require the fisherman to hold the rod in position while performing such activities. However, it is often difficult to hold the rod at a convenient angle in one hand while carrying out the aforementioned activities using the other hand.
Numerous fishing rod holders exists in the art, these holders typically require a specific type of rod for setting up tip downs and comprises a clamp or screw type mounting mechanism. Fishing rods are required to be mounted on different types of vertical surfaces including boat wall, pail, pier and the like. Therefore, there is a need in the art for fishing rod holders with a common mounting mechanism, which allows the holder to be mounted on different surfaces as discussed above.
Another limitation with the existing fishing rod holders is lack of strong holding of the fishing rod, especially during situations when a powerful strike by a fish will pull the entire fishing rod into the water which results in loss of expensive fishing equipment. For example, during ice fishing, a fisherman will occasionally leave an ice fishing hole unattended with the result that a powerful strike by a fish will pull the entire fishing rod into and through the hole so that the fishing rod is lost. Similarly, during open water fishing unattended fishing rod lying on a pier or extending from a boat may get pulled into the water body by the fish.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a fishing rod holder which can be removably attached to different types of vertical surfaces and the fishing rod holder should also be able to prevent pulling in the entire fishing rod into the water by the fish.